Army orders more spare parts for small unmanned aerial systems

MONROVIA, Calif., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has given AeroVironment Inc. multi-million dollar orders to provide spare parts for Raven and Puma AE unmanned aerial vehicles.

Delivery of the spare parts is expected to occur within the next 12 months.

"Recapitalizing the Army's large fleet of Raven and Puma AE systems ensures that soldiers have the most effective and reliable small UAS available to support them, wherever and whenever required," said Roy Minson, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment's UAS business segment.

"With AeroVironment-original spare parts and upgrades, operators can continue to rely on our combat-proven solutions to deliver better information, on-demand, and help them operate more safely and effectively."

The RQ-11B and RQ-20A are small, hand-launched tactical unmanned aerial systems used for reconnaissance and surveillance. They were used in Iraq and now Afghanistan.

AeroVironment says the two new contracts for spare parts, worth a combined total of about $27.2 million, brings company orders for parts and upgrades for the systems since May to $77.6 million.